[PHIL HARRIS]
Review and Introduction
In chapter 13 we were introduced to the Dragon who brought up two beasts, one from the sea and one from the earth. These two beasts are commonly referred to as the Antichrist and the False Prophet.
After the pouring out of the seven bowls of God’s wrath culminating with the Battle of Armageddon as recorded in chapter 16, we step back in time in chapter 17 to look in more detail at the relationship of the great prostitute of Babylon with the Antichrist and her power over the federation of ten kings who formed the last satanic kingdom of the world.
Now, in chapter 18, we learn more about this last satanic kingdom which focused on the riches of “the merchants of the earth” who were under the power of the great prostitute.
Today, we can read Revelation 18 and see it as a warning of how seductive and dangerous Babylon is in our time and lives.
Come Out Of Her My People
From the time when the seven churches of Asia were given the book of Revelation (see Revelation 1:4), Christians have been warned to come out of this world system controlled by the power of the Whore of Babylon. In other words, Christians in the world are not to be of the world:
If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you (John 15:19).
Now, in chapter 18 of Revelation, another angel—one with great authority—appears before the apostle John:
After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was made bright with his glory. And he called out with a mighty voice, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast (Rev. 18:1-2).
The whore of Babylon has fallen because she was a haunt for evil spirits, unclean birds, and all detestable beasts.
For all nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living (Rev. 18:3).
All the world under the control of the “kings of the earth” have committed physical, spiritual, and commercial immorality through her sorcery, with the “merchants of the earth” having grown rich through the power of her luxurious living. The classic definition of whoredom is receiving money for sex, and this metaphor describes the wealth the nations received through immoral liaisons with Babylon.
Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities (Rev. 18:4-5).
In verse 4 John says he heard “another voice from heaven”, but he does not identify the voice. In fact, the use of the word “another” suggests that this is simply another angel speaking. The words, however, carry the command, “Come out of her, my people”. The first person possessive phrase “my people” introduces the possibility that this is the Lamb of God speaking.
This command is not only for the first audience but also for own time. The church, the true body of Christ, is to be set apart from this evil world system (John 17:1-11), and we are to leave this system.
Her Plagues Will Come In A Single Day
The prophet Isaiah has much to say about the woman of Babylon in Isaiah chapter 47. For example, she claims God-like status for herself: “I am, and there is no one besides me” (v. 8). Or consider verse 9 where we find these words about her: “These two things shall come to you in a moment, in one day; the loss of children and widowhood shall come upon you in full measure, in spite of your many sorceries and the great power of your enchantments”.
She is guilty of many sins, yet this one alone is enough to call her a blasphemer; she claims for herself the status that belongs to God alone: “I am, and there is no one besides me”. Now there is a call for judgment for her:
Pay her back as she herself has paid back others, and repay her double for her deeds; mix a double portion for her in the cup she mixed. As she glorified herself and lived in luxury, so give her a like measure of torment and mourning, since in her heart she says, “I sit as a queen, I am no widow, and mourning I shall never see” (Rev. 18:6-7).
This is an appeal to God to bring judgment upon the Harlot of Babylon. Most likely the speaker is the angel who speaks for the collective voice of the “slain for the word of God”:
When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth” (Rev. 6:9-10)?
For this reason her plagues will come in a single day, death and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for mighty is the Lord God who has judged her.” (Rev. 18:8)
At the height of her power, God judged her and put it into the heart of the Antichrist and the ten rulers of all the earth to turn on her, kill her, and burn her up (Rev. 17:16-18).
They Will Weep and Wail
And the kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning. They will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say, “Alas! Alas! You great city, you mighty city, Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come” (Rev. 18:9-10).
Realizing that the source of their power and wealth has been suddenly and completely destroyed, the rulers of the earth are devastated.
And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, cargo of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls. “The fruit for which your soul longed has gone from you, and all your delicacies and your splendors are lost to you, never to be found again” (Rev. 18:11-14)!
These twenty-eight commodities of the ancient world listed in this passage represent the source of the wealth of the merchants of the world that is suddenly lost to them. They, along with those who make their living transporting the goods, will cry out in dismay as they watch the burning of this once great city.
Fear Of Her Torment
The merchants of these wares, who gained wealth from her, will stand far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud, “Alas, alas, for the great city that was clothed in fine linen, in purple and scarlet, adorned with gold, with jewels, and with pearls! For in a single hour all this wealth has been laid waste.” And all shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors, and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning, “What city was like the great city” (Rev. 18:15-18)?
Without her there is suddenly nothing left to transport or sell. All has been laid waste.
And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out, “Alas, alas, for the great city where all who had ships at sea grew rich by her wealth! For in a single hour she has been laid waste. Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her” (Rev. 18:19-20)!
Throwing dust on their heads is a visible expression of their weeping and mourning; however, they are not repenting of their sins. Instead, they are weeping over their lost evil source of wealth. The attitude of the world’s merchants is demonstrated in Revelation 16 at the pouring out of God’s seventh bowl of His wrath. We read this:
And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on people; and they cursed God for the plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe (Rev. 16:21).
A Great Millstone
Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence, and will be found no more (Rev 18:21).
In Daniel chapter two, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had a dream of a great image that is of the world kingdoms of the earth. The prophet Daniel interpreted this vision:
And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure” (Dan. 2:44-45).
Jesus Christ is the Stone, like a great millstone, that destroys earth’s kingdoms. He reigns as king of God’s eternal kingdom. The condition of the destroyed Babylon is further described in Revelation 18:22–23:
…and the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters, will be heard in you no more, and a craftsman of any craft will be found in you no more, and the sound of the mill will be heard in you no more, and the light of a lamp will shine in you no more, and the voice of bridegroom and bride will be heard in you no more, for your merchants were the great ones of the earth, and all nations were deceived by your sorcery (Rev. 18:22-23).
Normal human activities will no long exist. Entertainment and music are gone. Manufacturing of any kind is gone. Skilled craftsmen are not to be found. Normal family life comes to an end. In her and for her there is no light. All these things happen because the merchants and rulers of earth were deceived by her sorcery.
And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all who have been slain on earth” (Rev. 18:24).
The woman of Babylon receives God’s judgment because she is guilty of the shed blood of saints in all ages.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Heb. 12:1-2).
Hallelujah
“Hallelujah” is a Greek word derived from the Hebrew meaning “Praise ye YAH (Yahweh)’. In the Old Testament this word is only found in the Psalms, and it is only found here in the New Testament. This placement leads us to the understanding that only the saints of God have a reason to sing Hallelujah to their Lord. Since this word is an active imperative verb, we the saints of God are being asked—or even commanded—to praise God.
Rev. 19:1-5 summarizes what happens following the eternal judgment of the great prostitute of Babylon.
After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.” Once more they cried out, “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever” (Rev. 19:1-3).
This hallelujah to God comes from the collective voice of those who have been slain for the word of God because their shed blood has been avenged (Rev. 6:9-11).
The smoke and burning of the great prostitute of Babylon goes up forever and ever.
And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” And from the throne came a voice saying, “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great” (Rev. 19:4-5).
In agreement, the twenty-four elders along with the four living creatures fall down, worship God, and say: “Amen. Hallelujah!”
The eternal kingdom of the Lamb has begun.
Summary
- This chapter, while telling us about the great prostitute, focuses on the merchants, along with the last kings of earth, who have been seduced by her and gotten rich marketing her wares. With her fall they mourn over the loss of their source of wealth that has been destroyed.
- The “sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters” represents the entertainment industry that has also been seduced in our modern world.
- The saints of God are commanded to “Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins”. Since this instruction is given when all that is evil has been brought to an end, these words must apply to our own time when sin still exists.
- “Hallelujah” is a unique an active imperative verb, translated from the Hebrew into the Greek and into English, meaning the saints of God are at all times to give praise to God. The martyred saints of God sing Hallelujah because God has brought judgment against those who have shed their blood.
- Destruction will come upon the great prostitute within a single day. It will be sudden and complete.
—All biblical quotes taken from the ESV
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